Santi: The Devil's Pioneer

Chapter 62 - Exhaustion Wears Me Thin

*Emily's POV*

"She has not returned any of my texts and calls," Emman worriedly expressed. It had been a complete month since they broke up. Two weeks after Santi visited me in my apartment.

"Can I s***h her tires and get away with it?" Kiki suggested, feeling infuriated with the way Santi left the group.

"She doesn't even have a car, dumbass." I glared at him.

I had left Santi alone in peace. I didn't want to have to patch things for her and Emman. But he looked so devastated and I hated seeing him that way.

"I never thought it was physically possible for my body to contain this much anger and hatred but apparently it is. I'm evidently proving my own naive silly self wrong." Kiki rambles on.

Since last week I've been dealing with new clients in Arizona, for my father and the new business he started. I had not had enough time to deal with drama like this.

Arizona operates on a whole different schedule, which means I'm sacrificing my sleep to deal with new investment opportunities who appear way too happy over a teleconference at 10 p.m. Every night, I had a headache. But daddy insisted that I deal with that as well, and so I did. It did provide a welcome diversion from the shambles that had become my life.

But yet another issue is that we never seem to agree, which is putting a damper on my entire objective of finishing this chore so that I may resume my 'regular' pattern rather than a crepuscular insomniac one. My body clock has given up on keeping up with me and my job schedule, so it's probably passed out unconscious someplace.

Emman and the others, on the other hand, appeared to be playing it safe around me. They've only troubled me with vital stuff, and when he noticed me nearly fully out under the couch during the day, he attempted not to make too much noise.

My mornings had become bleak, and I had lost any respect for anything. I now realized why everyone emphasizes the need for sleep. I should definitely fetch my mattresses and comforters and build a sleeper sofa next to my laptop in my workspace since dragging my sleep-deprived body to work every day after a two-hour snooze was nearly hard.

He has no clue what's about to happen to him. Emman was diligently working on his football plays, and Kiki had to attend some dull class sessions, so I was left alone to drown in self-pity.

I was buzzed on coffee and sugar and battling to remain awake but unable to rest due to the amount of adrenaline in my system; it felt like I was treading a fine line between having a serious meltdown and busting out laughing loudly and obnoxiously. Neither of them appeared to be especially pleasant.

I was engaged on one of those tedious projects and was looking for that one file in particular. I'm very sure Emman handed it to me the morning before he left, but where did I put it?

Just in time, Emman walked in at that precise moment and a smile landed upon my lips as I welcomed him to my apartment. But his face remained surly.

He simply looked at me and walked into the kitchen. I waited for him to begin, curious as to what fresh information he may have brought across. But his features just became more agitated. I was concerned by his out-of-character demeanor.

He sighed and murmured some incomprehensible ideas. What exactly did that imply?

"Emman, are you okay?" I questioned. His face fell more if that was even possible.

"Since you're not feeling well, you should take the day off," I said as I stepped up to him and forced him to sit in a chair while pouring him a glass of cool water.

"Do you personally believe so?" he questioned, his chuckle devoid of humor.

"Will you please quit speaking in metaphors and tell me what's amiss?" I shouted, becoming irritated. But, before he verified it, the words he spoke earlier slowly began to make sense to me.

He snarled, "Coach is going to demote me and put the f*****g heathen at quarterback."

His crazy idea makes me squirm. I'm quite sure I've never heard him cuss before since he buried his head in his palms and cursed. I remain mute while I try to comprehend the situation. Our expressions of disbelief were visible as we glanced at each other, puzzled.